Questlove is back to talk about his new documentary about Sly Stone and his band the Family Stone. They created a new sound with their mix of pop, soul, funk, psychedelic music and irresistible beats. The film is called SLY LIVES! (aka The Burden of Black Genius) and it streams on Hulu beginning Feb. 13.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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This is Fresh Air. I'm Terry Gross. Today, Amir Questlove-Thompson is back to talk about the life and legacy of Sly Stone. Questlove's new documentary called Sly Lives, a.k.a. The Burden of Black Genius, is about the impact of Sly Stone and his band Sly and the Family Stone on music and culture. Sly got his start as a DJ and record producer in the early 1960s.
formed a multiracial band with his brother, sister, and other musicians, and went on to record hits like Everyday People, Dance to the Music, Family Affair, and Stand. Their music influenced Prince, George Clinton and Funkadelic, The Ohio Players, Earth, Wind & Fire, and many hip-hop artists. The film also covers the problems that came along with fame and drugs that took Sly down.
It premiered at Sundance last month and starts streaming on Hulu Thursday, February 13th. Questlove is the co-founder of the hip-hop band The Roots, which is the house band for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
If you feel as if you just heard him on our show, you did when we talked about his other new documentary focused on Saturday Night Live's music guests and music sketches over the past 50 years. That one's called Ladies and Gentlemen, 50 Years of SNL Music. Questlove's 2021 documentary Summer of Soul, featuring performances from the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, won an Oscar for Best Documentary.
So let's talk about your slide documentary. I really love this film. I want to start with a song, and it's their first big hit. It's Dance to the Music. It's so catchy, and I'd like you to point out what makes this song special in its moment, which was 1967 or 8?
This is 1968.
Okay. So what makes this song so special in its moment?
Sly will invent the alphabet for which most of pop and R&B or black music will write from for, you know, the next 60 years. Like, we're still writing from his dictionary to this day. And so, okay, we have a four-minute song to make. How many micro songs can we have in this particular song? In other words, a typical Sly the Family Stone song is— has a bunch of elements that will grab everybody.
Like, most songs will just have one specific hook. Like, this is the chorus. This is my hook. Okay, here are my lyrics. Instead, Sly will do a four-bar part that's, like, earworm. You know, like, that'll grab you, and then he'll do another four bars that will grab someone else. So, you know, lyrically and melodic-wise, his formula is also... The world's funkiest nursery rhyme music.
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